In the end, Ding Gan couldn’t muster the courage to approach Mr. Pei and strike up a conversation.

When you’re the meat on the chopping board, what is there to say?

Ding Gan had previously dealt with Mr. Pei regarding the GPL slot issue and was very familiar with his personality.

Mr. Pei was a strategic mastermind who wouldn’t act without 100% confidence; at the same time, he was a cold and ruthless person who would never change his mind once he’d made a decision.

Now that Mr. Pei had personally come to the IOI qualifier venue, it meant he already had absolute confidence in victory and had made up his mind. No amount of pleading would change his thinking.

Ding Gan knew that saying more would be pointless. Whether the SUG Club could advance tomorrow would depend entirely on the players’ performance.

With this thought, Ding Gan turned and quickly left the venue, heading to the backstage area.

He neither wanted to be seen by Mr. Pei nor did he want to inform Zhao Xuming.

Zhao Xuming couldn’t help at this point and didn’t care about the SUG Club anyway. Since three teams would advance regardless, Zhao Xuming didn’t care whether it was FV or SUG.

In that case, everyone should mind their own business!

All Ding Gan wanted now was to quickly provide some mental preparation for his players, ensuring they maintained their composure to survive tomorrow’s elimination matches and secure a World Championship spot.

Pei Qian hadn’t noticed Ding Gan sitting not far from him. He was still immersed in the painful reality that FV had successfully entered the elimination round.

After sitting silently in his seat for a long time, Pei Qian stood up, intending to go backstage to check on the FV Club’s situation.

How had a bottom-tier team suddenly become an all-star team?

If he couldn’t figure this out, Pei Qian feared he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly tonight.

Since the venue was just an auditorium in a shopping mall, it wasn’t very large or formal. Pei Qian walked around a bit and quickly found the players’ backstage area.

Some fans had gathered outside the backstage, waiting to see their favorite players. Since the matches had ended some time ago, the official staff were busy with other matters. Only the team leaders and managers were outside, holding back enthusiastic fans to prevent them from disturbing the players.

Pei Qian saw FV Club’s room, which was quite shabby—just a printed paper on the door that read “FV Club Rest Area.”

Manager Lu was standing at the door making a phone call, seemingly contacting the driver responsible for pickup and drop-off. From inside the room came the faint sound of FV Club players arguing, probably discussing today’s matches.

Pei Qian walked straight over.

“Sorry, the players are reviewing the match and don’t have time for autographs or photos… Oh? You are…?”

Manager Lu had only met Pei Qian once, and Pei Qian was wearing a mask, so he didn’t recognize him immediately.

Pei Qian pulled his mask down slightly: “It’s me.”

Manager Lu was very surprised and quickly said: “Mr. Pei? What brings you here! Please come in.”

Though he didn’t know exactly why Mr. Pei had come, anything that would make Mr. Pei personally make the trip had to be important.

Pei Qian followed Manager Lu into the rest area and immediately heard the players heatedly discussing tactics.

“Our approach isn’t working. We’re still too constrained. The last two matches against weaker teams were fine, but the first match against SUG was a close call—we almost lost!”

“Yes, tomorrow’s elimination matches will definitely be much more intense than the group stage. The way we’re playing is quite risky. There’s a good chance we’ll crash and burn.”

“Maybe we should return to conventional playstyle and get the World Championship qualification first, then slowly adapt to GOG’s playstyle.”

“I agree. Let’s secure the World Championship spot first, otherwise everything would be in vain.”

The players each held their ground, arguing quite intensely.

Manager Lu’s expression was slightly awkward as he said softly: “Mr. Pei, please don’t mind them. The players don’t have any real conflict—they’re purely discussing game tactics.”

He was afraid that the scene in the rest area would leave a bad impression on Mr. Pei.

Although Mr. Pei had said he wouldn’t interfere with FV Club’s operations when he invested, that was one thing. Whether Wu Yue and Manager Lu cared about Mr. Pei’s opinion was another matter entirely.

From every perspective, Wu Yue and Manager Lu did care deeply about Mr. Pei’s opinion.

In terms of money and resources, Mr. Pei provided both funding and players. This all-star team was essentially assembled thanks to Mr. Pei.

In terms of decision-making and judgment, Mr. Pei had created the GPL League and was GOG’s producer. His understanding of game content and the esports industry far surpassed that of Wu Yue and Manager Lu.

So, even though Mr. Pei said he wouldn’t interfere with FV Club’s operations, Wu Yue and Manager Lu would still try to guess Mr. Pei’s intentions and operate the club in a way that would please him.

Hearing the players’ heated argument, Pei Qian wasn’t angry at all—on the contrary, he was quite pleased.

They won the match, but were still so worked up?

This indicated that the team had conflicts and hidden troubles!

This was good news!

If they performed poorly tomorrow, there was still hope they could be eliminated!

Thinking of this, Pei Qian became optimistic again, the corners of his mouth rising slightly beneath his mask.

Wu Yue was also in the rest area, with a worried expression.

Pan Ying was the team’s support player and also the team captain.

He was responsible for the team’s tactical arrangements and in-game command. From the beginning, he had proposed playing according to GOG’s methods, including lane rotations, team composition choices, and tactical details, completely aligning with GOG.

Originally, the other players had no objections, but after today’s matches, opinions within the team began to diverge.

Because today’s matches had indeed been quite challenging.

Although Pan Ying’s approach was unique and had yielded decent results, there were still significant differences between GOG and IOI in terms of heroes and gameplay. Moreover, this playstyle required long-term practice and coordination—it couldn’t be mastered overnight.

Therefore, the top and mid laners wanted to play it safe, focusing on individual strength first to secure the World Championship qualification, then gradually practice the new style afterward.

But Pan Ying felt that this was an excellent opportunity to learn through competition. Training matches could never match the intensity of elimination matches. If they retreated whenever facing difficulty, they would never master this playstyle, even by the World Championship.

Moreover, the current tactical arrangements had already been set. Abruptly switching to a playstyle centered on individual ability might not necessarily yield good results.

Both sides stuck to their positions, unable to convince each other, and Wu Yue couldn’t unify their opinions, leaving him anxious and helpless.

Just then, he saw Manager Lu bringing Mr. Pei into the rest area.

Wu Yue’s eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly stood up: “Mr. Pei! What brings you here?”

Pei Qian had already removed his mask, which had felt a bit stuffy after wearing it all afternoon: “Nothing special, just dropping by to take a look.”

Wu Yue nodded, filled with reverence.

Although Mr. Pei casually said he was “just dropping by,” Wu Yue knew clearly that Mr. Pei must have specifically come to watch the match!

Mr. Pei was extremely busy with countless responsibilities. Today was also the opening day of GPL, yet Mr. Pei hadn’t gone to watch GPL’s opening ceremony, but instead came to see FV’s match. This showed how much Mr. Pei valued the FV Club!

And to avoid putting too much pressure on the players, Mr. Pei just said he was “dropping by”—how considerate!

Seeing Mr. Pei, the players all stood up, stopping their argument.

Wu Yue quickly said, “In my opinion, let’s stop arguing. We won’t get anywhere continuing like this.”

“Whether we focus on individual ability or GOG’s tactical approach, both have their advantages and disadvantages. No one can guarantee which approach will lead to victory.”

“Since no one can convince anyone else, the most important thing now is to make a decision quickly. Whichever method we choose, we need to hurry back and develop tactics. We can’t waste any more time on this meaningless argument.”

“In my view, let Mr. Pei make the final decision! That way, everyone should be convinced, right?”

The players looked at each other and nodded.

Mr. Pei was GOG’s designer and the organizer of the GPL League. His understanding of both the game and competitions must be extremely profound!

If Mr. Pei made the decision, everyone could accept it regardless of the outcome.

Even if they lost, it wouldn’t be Mr. Pei’s fault—it would be because they hadn’t played well enough.

Wu Yue looked at Pei Qian: “Mr. Pei, you must have watched this afternoon’s matches. Could you give us some advice? The players will listen to you.”

Pei Qian felt delighted. What luck!

This was them asking him to make the decision, not him actively trying to mislead them.

During the afternoon matches, Pei Qian had already noticed that FV Club’s players all had strong individual abilities and decent coordination, but their understanding of the meta and tactical execution differed from other teams.

From hero selection to specific tactical execution and resource exchange, they seemed out of place compared to other teams.

Simply put, they played more like they were playing GOG, which, to some extent, limited their abilities.

If it came down to pure raw strength, SUG Club should have lost with even less suspense.

The commentators had noticed this, and FV Club’s players had sensed it too.

Pei Qian thought this was perfectly normal. GOG and IOI were two different games! With such significant differences in game mechanics, insisting on using GOG’s playstyle in IOI was like practicing martial arts in reverse. Even if you could achieve something, it would require long, bitter practice, and you would never beat the top masters.

As everyone knew, BO1 and BO5 were completely different games.

Tomorrow, when the intensity of the elimination matches increased, whether FV Club’s approach would still be effective was questionable.

With this in mind, Pei Qian seriously said, “Just stick with your current playstyle. It’s fine! No matter how difficult the matches become, you must never give up!”

At this moment, Pei Qian channeled his inner actor, his expression extremely serious.

Support player Pan Ying was deeply moved and said, “Thank you for your trust, Mr. Pei! I will refine this strategy further and strive to achieve better results tomorrow!”

He had been wavering somewhat in his confidence, but since Mr. Pei personally confirmed there was no problem with this approach, there must be no problem!

If they lost the match, it would be because the players performed poorly or coordinated badly—it could never be Mr. Pei’s fault.

The other players looked at each other and didn’t say anything more.

Mr. Pei had made his decision, so what was there to worry about? They just needed to earnestly implement the strategy and complete their tasks.

With opinions unified, there was nothing left to argue about. Everyone would just follow Pan Ying’s command.

Wu Yue couldn’t help but marvel silently.

Was this Mr. Pei’s magic?

With just one sentence, all the players were completely convinced!

Although Wu Yue was the club’s owner and could pressure these players, forced pressure didn’t mean the players would willingly listen.

While Wu Yue was the owner, his understanding of the game was somewhat lacking. Even if he decided to use a certain approach, when problems arose, the players would instinctively wonder if another approach might be better.

But Mr. Pei wasn’t just an owner—he had an extremely profound understanding of the game. If he said there was no problem, then there wasn’t a problem.

Wu Yue couldn’t help but feel that Mr. Pei seemed like a chosen one, giving people a sense that he was capable of anything.

Following such a boss, how could they not win effortlessly?